N.J. judge: State must let gay couples wed

Cindy Meneghin, right, kisses her partner Maureen Kilian, both from Butler, N.J., during a rally at Garden State Equality in Montclair, N.J., hours after a Superior Court Judge ruled that New Jersey is unconstitutionally denying federal benefits to gay couples and must allow them to marry, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. Meneghin has been with Kilian for 39 years. Judge Mary Jacobson ruled it legal for gay couples to marry in the state beginning Oct. 21, 2013. The ruling comes after a group of gay marriage supporters sued the state in July, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Cindy Meneghin, right, kisses her partner Maureen Kilian, both from Butler, N.J., during a rally at Garden State Equality in Montclair, N.J., hours after a Superior Court Judge ruled that New Jersey is unconstitutionally denying federal benefits to gay couples and must allow them to marry, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. Meneghin has been with Kilian for 39 years. Judge Mary Jacobson ruled it legal for gay couples to marry in the state beginning Oct. 21, 2013. The ruling comes after a group of gay marriage supporters sued the state in July, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Alex Nikazmerad, 24, of North Plainfield, N.J., shouts at a vehicle passing by while holding a sign in front of First Congregational Church before a rally hosted by Garden State Equality in Montclair, N.J., hours after same-sex marriages were made legal by a state judge, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson ruled it legal for gay couples to marry in the state beginning Oct. 21, 2013. The ruling comes after a group of gay marriage supporters sued the state in July, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Cindy Meneghin, center right,, hugs her attorney Hayley Gorenberg, center left, during a rally at Garden State Equality in Montclair, N.J., hours after same-sex marriages were made legal by a state judge, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. Meneghin, has been with her partner, Maureen Kilian, left, for 39 years. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson ruled it legal for gay couples to marry in the state beginning Oct. 21, 2013. The ruling comes after a group of gay marriage supporters sued the state in July, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Cindy Meneghin, second from right, hugs her attorney Hayley Gorenberg during a rally at Garden State Equality in Montclair, N.J., hours after a Superior Court Judge ruled that New Jersey is unconstitutionally denying federal benefits to gay couples and must allow them to marry Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. Meneghin has been with her partner, Maureen Kilian, left, for 39 years. Judge Mary Jacobson ruled it legal for gay couples to marry in the state beginning Oct. 21, 2013. The ruling comes after a group of gay marriage supporters sued the state in July, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Cindy Meneghin, left, kisses her partner of 39 years, Maureen Kilian, both from Butler, N.J., during a news conference at Garden State Equality in Montclair, N.J., hours after same-sex marriages were made legal by a state judge, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson ruled it legal for gay couples to marry in the state beginning Oct. 21, 2013. The ruling comes after a group of gay marriage supporters sued the state in July, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Cindy Meneghin, second from right, hugs her attorney Hayley Gorenberg during a rally at Garden State Equality in Montclair, N.J., hours after a Superior Court Judge ruled that New Jersey is unconstitutionally denying federal benefits to gay couples and must allow them to marry Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. Meneghin has been with her partner, Maureen Kilian, left, for 39 years. Judge Mary Jacobson ruled it legal for gay couples to marry in the state beginning Oct. 21, 2013. The ruling comes after a group of gay marriage supporters sued the state in July, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Cindy Meneghin, left, shares a moment with her partner of 39 years, Maureen Kilian, both from Butler, N.J., during a news conference at Garden State Equality in Montclair, N.J., hours after same-sex marriages were made legal by a state judge, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson ruled it legal for gay couples to marry in the state beginning Oct. 21, 2013. The ruling comes after a group of gay marriage supporters sued the state in July, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Cindy Meneghin, left, kisses her partner Maureen Kilian, both from Butler, N.J., during a news conference at Garden State Equality in Montclair, N.J., hours after a Superior Court Judge ruled that New Jersey is unconstitutionally denying federal benefits to gay couples and must allow them to marry, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. Judge Mary Jacobson ruled it legal for gay couples to marry in the state beginning Oct. 21, 2013. The ruling comes after a group of gay marriage supporters sued the state in July, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Cindy Meneghin, left, kisses her partner Maureen Kilian, both from Butler, N.J., during a news conference at Garden State Equality in Montclair, N.J., hours after a Superior Court Judge ruled that New Jersey is unconstitutionally denying federal benefits to gay couples and must allow them to marry, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. Judge Mary Jacobson ruled it legal for gay couples to marry in the state beginning Oct. 21, 2013. The ruling comes after a group of gay marriage supporters sued the state in July, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Jonathan Javins, 42, right, of Jersey City, N.J., drinks from a bottle after opening it up to celebrate along with his partner Jack Denelsbeck, 40, center, and Gary Cosgrove, 54, of Lodi, N.J., during a rally at Garden State Equality in Montclair, N.J., hours after a Superior Court Judge ruled that New Jersey is unconstitutionally denying federal benefits to gay couples and must allow them to marry, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. Judge Mary Jacobson ruled it legal for gay couples to marry in the state beginning Oct. 21, 2013. The ruling comes after a group of gay marriage supporters sued the state in July, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Jonathan Javins, 42, right, of Jersey City, N.J., drinks from a bottle after opening it up to celebrate along with his partner Jack Denelsbeck, 40, center, and Gary Cosgrove, 54, of Lodi, N.J., during a rally at Garden State Equality in Montclair, N.J., hours after a Superior Court Judge ruled that New Jersey is unconstitutionally denying federal benefits to gay couples and must allow them to marry, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. Judge Mary Jacobson ruled it legal for gay couples to marry in the state beginning Oct. 21, 2013. The ruling comes after a group of gay marriage supporters sued the state in July, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Cindy Meneghin, left, kisses her partner Maureen Kilian, both from Butler, N.J., during a news conference at Garden State Equality in Montclair, N.J., hours after a Superior Court Judge ruled that New Jersey is unconstitutionally denying federal benefits to gay couples and must allow them to marry, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. Judge Mary Jacobson ruled it legal for gay couples to marry in the state beginning Oct. 21, 2013. The ruling comes after a group of gay marriage supporters sued the state in July, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

New Jersey is unconstitutionally denying federal benefits to gay couples and must allow them to marry, a judge ruled yesterday.

Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson sided almost entirely with a group of same-sex couples and gay rights groups who sued the state in July days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples.

Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican in the midst of a re-election campaign and a possible presidential contender, said through a spokesman yesterday he plans to appeal the decision, which he believes should be determined by a popular vote.

The judge made the ruling effective Oct. 21, giving Christie time to appeal and likely ask a court to delay implementation of her order.

Christie refused to take questions about the ruling after attending a college ground-breaking ceremony.

New Jersey allows same-sex couples to enter into civil unions that give them some of the same legal protections as marriage, but the judge said the two labels exclude gay couples “from certain federal benefits.”

Lambda Legal lawyer Hayley Gorenberg, who prepared the lawsuit, said the judge “has issued a very thorough and powerful opinion that shows the correctness under the constitution of our claims.”

“It shows the deep error the state’s been making in refusing to let people marry on an equal basis,” Gorenberg said.

One of the plaintiffs, Marcye Nicholson-McFadden, said she and her partner of 24 years, Karen Nicholson-McFadden, were trying to absorb the news.

“I want to shout from the rooftops, but I just have to keep myself in check,” said Marcye Nicholson-McFadden, of Aberdeen, as she braced for the expected appeal.

Dozens of gay-marriage supporters, including some of the other plaintiffs, rallied Friday night in Montclair to celebrate the ruling, cheering, hugging and popping Champagne.

But Len Deo, president of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, one of the state’s more visible social conservative groups, criticized the ruling.

“For our state, essentially, this is judicial activism again, one judge implementing same-sex marriage on New Jersey,” he said.

Thirteen states recognize same-sex marriage, including the entire Northeast except for Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

It’s been a major political and legal issue in New Jersey for more than a decade.

The state Supreme Court ruled unanimously in 2006 that same sex-couples had the right to the same legal protections as married couples, but a 4-3 majority ruled that the state didn’t have to go as far as calling those benefits marriage. Lawmakers responded by quickly creating civil unions.

In 2011, six couples and children of several of them asked the courts to find that the civil union law wasn’t fulfilling its intention because it created a separate classification for gay couples. The state Supreme Court sent the issue to a lower court.

But the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June on the Defense of Marriage Act changed the argument, and the couples asked anew for speedy relief.

Federal agencies have rolled out a variety of policies on whether they will recognize marriages of any gay couples or only those in states that recognize their vows.

The Christie administration argued that it’s the federal government’s patchwork of policies that’s keeping lesbian and gay couples in New Jersey from having the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples.

Even if Friday’s summary judgment is ultimately rejected, the broader case would remain, though it likely would take several months before a trial could be held.

The question of gay marriage is also in the Legislature. In 2012, lawmakers passed a law to allow gay marriage, but Christie vetoed it.

On Friday, Democratic lawmakers called on Christie not to appeal the ruling.

“It is also a stark reminder that Governor Christie stands on the wrong side of history,” said state Sen. Barbara Buono, who’s running for governor and has an openly gay daughter. “At every turn, he has prevented our gay brothers and sisters from enjoying the same rights as other New Jerseyans.”